


taken for granted

by emblems



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, leo spends a lot of time looking at takumi, very brief introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 14:10:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6287710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblems/pseuds/emblems
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>bet he can’t actually shoot. probably couldn’t hit a babe if it was laid on the ground in front of him.</i> leo freezes, knowing these archers don’t realize how sharp leo and takumi's hearing is, being of dragon’s blood. his eyes flicker to takumi, words already forming to stymie the outburst that’s sure to come.</p><p>[ takumi, as always, is buffetted by doubt on all sides. leo can't bring himself to look away. ]</p>
            </blockquote>





	taken for granted

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what canon this is in but assume nohr and hoshido are getting along and everyone lived. also i'm assuming that having dragon's blood means you have heightened senses shhhh just go with it

if he’s being perfectly honest, leo has wondered more than once if the fujin yumi’s magic extends to takumi’s aim.

he never asks, though, knowing in so doing he’d spark an argument that would bring the the entire castle down in flames. he considers asking sakura, knowing she of all the hoshido siblings was least likely to think ill of his intentions or curiosity.

turns out he doesn’t have to. one day, following a lengthy and exhausting series of meetings and hearings, he and takumi walk the grounds, alternating between comfortable silence and discussion on the day’s proceedings.

they’re passing the training grounds when he hears it—laughter. jeers, from the sounds of it, directed right at them.

_bet he can’t actually shoot. probably couldn’t hit a babe if it was laid on the ground in front of him._ leo freezes, knowing they don’t realize how sharp their hearing is, being of dragon’s blood. his eyes flicker to takumi, words already forming to stymie the outburst that’s sure to come.

and for a brief moment, it seems like it will: takumi's eyes burn, and his mouth thins in a way leo has come to recognize is an expression of anger.

but then it’s gone, replaced by something leo doesn’t recognize on takumi’s features—or, rather, there's a lack of something. takumi is not someone leo associates with an absence of feeling, and he has a habit of wearing every emotion plainly on his face.

to see the opposite is downright disconcerting, and leo finds himself in unfamiliar territory, unsure of what course of action to take.

takumi’s shoulders set, and he turns to face the knot of nohrian archers clearly looking straight at them.

they fall silent immediately, and leo wonders if he should say something, if he should make sure takumi doesn’t create an incident (though, really, it was the archers’ fault).

but though he’d never be so foolish to voice them aloud like  _this_ , he has the same question as the other archers. 

so he watches in silence, morbidly curious, as takumi walks over, steps far more deliberate than leo has ever seen. takumi extends a hand and gestures, and the meaning is clear:

 _hand me your bow_.

with a sneer, one of them hands takumi his bow, and another a quiver. takumi throws the quiver over his back, taking an arrow in one clean motion and drawing back the bowstring. rather than tense, as leo might have expected, leo sees nothing but what he knows to be prime form (not that he’s an expert—not that he’s been watching takumi practice). 

leo blinks, and there’s an arrow in the center of the target. he blinks again, and he just catches takumi aiming up, well over the targets, and then there’s a pigeon lying at the archers’ feet. 

takumi looks at the bird. “the fujin yumi is a unique bow,” he says, and while on the surface he sounds calm, leo can pick up on a familiar thread of exasperation—of anger. “it’s powerful and lends me great strength in battle.”  

the entire day, leo heard frustration lurking under the surface of takumi’s voice, and seen his mounting impatience in the way disdain crept through his attempts to be diplomatic. 

this is different, though. the edge in takumi’s voice is the product of facing constant doubt—from others, from himself. it’s in the way his expression draws tighter than the bowstring he’d just handled, and in the way he dispatched this archer’s doubts with two arrows in the span of seconds.

he’s tired. leo wonders if he bears similar tells.

takumi continues: “but it does not reward those lacking in skill and discipline.”

he hands back the bow and quiver without another word and walks past leo, heading back towards the castle. leo falls into step beside him.

“you were wondering too, weren’t you?” takumi asks.

leo’s steps falter for just a second. “yes,” he says, because he dislikes being dishonest with takumi, someone who will lord such treachery over his head if he were to find out. it’s less effort to simply be forthright.

so he tells himself, at least.

takumi snorts. “predictable. you could have just asked—you wouldn’t be the first. i’d rather have that than have you wondering all this time.”

“i didn’t want to come off as…” leo trails off, words failing him.

takumi arches a brow. “i called you nohrian scum more times than i can count—i don’t think you asking about my abilities would have skewed things in my favor.”

this time leo is skeptical. “you lambasted me for asking if you knew how to use a fork instead of chopsticks. forgive me for wishing to avoid a repeat performance.”

“that’s _different_ , you were talking about _cutlery_ —”

“something in which your experience is limited, whereas you’ve dedicated a great deal of your life to mastering the bow. i was only trying to make sure you didn’t embarrass yourself at the dinner table.”

takumi laughs, and leo sees some of the tension ebb away from his shoulders. “good to know you have more faith in my archery than my etiquette.”

leo gives takumi a cursory look, from head to toes, and smirks. “do you really blame me, looking at you?”

by this time they’ve nearly reached the entrance hall, and takumi stops to face leo fully, arms crossed. “now what is _that_ supposed to mean?”

leo’s laugh echoes across the grounds, all the way back to the training grounds.

**Author's Note:**

> me: i should really finish conquest and play revelations before i attempt fic  
> me: drops 900 words in less than an hour
> 
> [ if you enjoyed this please consider [reblogging on tumblr](http://rovmustang.tumblr.com/post/141284351595/fic-taken-for-granted) ]


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